Revelations and Reactions
by A. Zap
Summary: Keith couldn't believe it. He was part Galra. That was hard enough to deal with... But then he realized that he would have to tell the rest of the team. He couldn't help but fear how they would react. In which Keith reveals that he's part Galra after facing the Blade of Marmora's trials. A belated fic intended for Keith's birthday.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Voltron or its characters. If I did, we would've actually have seen this scene.**

* * *

Revelations and Reactions

Shiro, of course, was the first one to find out. After all, he was literally there at the Blade of Marmora's base when Keith awakened the blade and revealed his heritage.

Keith was terrified.

His heart stopped as he stared at the sword in his hand, hardly able to believe what had happened. _I… I'm…_

Then the significance hit.

 _I'm Galra._

Keith's eyes immediately darted over to Shiro.

Shiro has suffered under the Galra for an entire year. Sure, he had seemed fairly okay, if a bit wary, of Ulaz and the other members of the Blade, but this was different. And if Shiro… if Shiro couldn't…

Keith didn't think he could handle Shiro abandoning him.

Just as his thoughts began to spiral, he felt a hand fall upon his shoulder. Keith looked up at Shiro's face and took note of the tired smile on his face.

"We'll work this out." Shiro promised, squeezing his shoulder.

For a moment, his heart lightened, reassured of his brother's support.

Then he realized that this was not something he could hide from the team. And whether it was that realization or the blood loss, Keith could practically feel the blood drain from his face.

Quiznak.

* * *

Keith didn't get a chance to tell them for a bit. The moment he was out of Red, he discovered that the others knew about Red's little freak out. It also didn't help that his wound was clearly on display for the others to see.

"What the cheese happened?!" Lance shouted as he gently tugged Keith away from the Red Lion, eyes wide as he took in Keith's appearance. "Did _they_ do this to you?" As quick as a wink, a cold anger flashed on his face and he glared at Kolivan and Antok as they followed Keith and Shiro's lead.

Keith knew that he had to snip this in the bud, because even Pidge and Hunk were starting to shoot thunderous looks at the Galra. "Well, no - I mean, technically, yes - " They looked even more pissed off and though it gave Keith a warm feeling, this was not good. He had just managed to somehow salvage the alliance after nearly ruining it. He couldn't let them fight this. "But I chose this!"

"You chose to get beat up?" Pidge asked flatly, her eyes narrowed skeptically.

"I - "

"Can you guys take him to the cryopod?" Shiro intervened. Keith flashed him a grateful look.

"Sure, Shiro." Hunk replied, and he led the way as the four of them made their way to the medbay, Lance keeping a firm grip on his elbow to prevent him from falling over and Pidge trailing behind. As they walked away, Keith noticed Allura and Coran coming up to greet their guests.

That was not a confrontation he was looking forward to as something in his chest pinged.

As Hunk and Pidge went to ready the pod once they reached the medbay, Lance stuck by the side. He tried to avoid looking at him, but he could feel Lance's gaze burning a hole in the side of his head. Then he couldn't ignore him once he started to speak, his voice low so to not attract the others' attention.

"Are you really okay? I mean, besides the - " Lance gestured at his shoulder. "Red was seriously going wild, dude, and we couldn't - I couldn't - " Different emotions seemed to be warring across Lance's face, but Keith couldn't identify them.

"Yes." Keith said simply, because really, the shoulder was the worse of his physical injuries. And it's not like he was going to drop the Galra bomb right before entering the pod. Even he knew that would be rude.

"You don't look it." Lance countered, his voice sounding a bit grumpy. "From the sounds of it, you were fighting or whatever for both days you were there. That can't be healthy."

"I'll be fine." Keith was always fine. Even if they rejected him when they found out, he was used to this sort of thing.

Lance pursed his lips like he didn't believe him, but Hunk and Pidge announced that the pod was ready so he didn't protest.

As Keith looked at their worried faces as the ice settled around him, he tried to hold the scene close to his heart.

After all, for all he knew, this would be the last time they looked at him so kindly.

* * *

Keith ended up revealing it during his post-pod dinner.

According to the rules they had all settled on after the first time Lance was in the pod, there was always supposed to be one person in the medbay while someone was in a pod unless there was an emergency situation. That way, in case the calculations on the pod were wrong, there'd be someone to catch the formerly injured person. Once released from the pod, they then had to change into clean clothes (preferably their civilian clothes or pajamas unless there was an immediate emergency situation) and eat.

And that's exactly what had happened. Keith had woken up to all of the other Paladins gathered around his pod, Lance being the one to catch him as he tilted out. A quick look at Shiro and his strained smile had let him know that his secret was still safe.

It was as Coran and Allura joined them at the table that he resigned himself to the fact that it couldn't stay that way.

Allura's forehead was wrinkled as she let out a dissatisfied huff. "Ten thousand years and it's only _now_ that they've gotten some sort of idea to defeat Zarkon?" She grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.

Keith stiffened where he was eating his food goo. Shiro and Lance both noticed and looked over, but Shiro was the one who spoke, "Allura…"

"What? Are you saying I'm wrong?" She asked. "Look at the maps! Whatever they've been doing hasn't truly stopped the Galra's spread. And then they attacked Keith!"

He couldn't keep silent. "That was my fault." He paused and drew his knife from where it always sat at his back. "I brought this with me."

"Dude!" Hunk hissed. "They said not to bring weapons!" His eyes darted from the knife to Keith and then over to Lance.

"Yeah, but I had noticed before that this had the same symbol on it that Ulaz's sword had. I couldn't leave it behind." Keith said a bit sheepishly. He probably should have waited until after they had established an alliance with the Blade and built some trust to ask, but he couldn't wait. He had to know.

Maybe Lance hadn't been totally incorrect about him jumping the gun and causing problems.

"It was something that my dad gave me; he said it was from my mom." Keith continued, avoiding Shiro's surprised look. He hadn't even told him where he had gotten it.

"So, what does that have to do with anything?" Pidge adjusted her glasses, a puzzled frown on her face.

Keith gulped. "These blades are exclusively for their order. Only… only members should have them, and they wanted to know how I got it. I wanted to know what it meant. They said I had to fight for the answers or I'd never be allowed to keep it." His skin crawled as the moment of truth crept closer and closer. Looking around, he saw that none of them had fully gotten to the conclusion yet.

"And did you?"

Keith jolted a bit. Of all people, he didn't expect Lance to be the one to ask. He glanced up at him and the serious expression on Lance's face seemed to make the whole situation even graver.

"Did you get your answers?" Lance asked again.

Keith took in a huge breath. _This was great while it lasted._ "I'm part Galra."

Silence.

"I beg your pardon?" Keith flinched at Allura's question; disbelief covered her face. "How could you be - Are you sure?" The stumble in her words was surprising for the usually articulate princess.

Keith gripped the blade and concentrated, trying to grasp the sensation from before. With a glow, the knife turned into a sword. "Only those with Galra blood can activate the blade." He said weakly, looking down at his food goo.

Shock rang through the room.

"I - " Allura was the one who broke the silence again. Keith risked a glance up at her and her expression looked almost exactly like it did when she first emerged from the cryopod and realized how many years had passed. "I have to go." She abruptly turned on her heel and practically fled from the room.

After a moment's pause, Coran sighed. "I'll see to her." He flashed Keith a small smile. "Rest up, number four."

Without another word, Coran followed Allura, but Keith got the feeling that Coran had more to say.

It was with the Alteans gone that Keith realized how awkward things were. Pidge and Hunk were staring at him in mild shock, and Keith didn't even want to look over at Lance to see what he looked like.

Suddenly, the food goo wasn't sitting well in his stomach at all.

Shiro reached out for him. "Keith…"

He couldn't handle this.

"I'm going to bed." Keith declared, shrugging off Shiro's concern and hightailing it out of there before the others could really react. He didn't - He couldn't -

He couldn't face any more rejection right now.

Keith was tempted to go to the training room and work out the stress building in his veins with a few rounds with the Gladiator. But he couldn't deny how tired he felt. He had just fought for almost two days straight.

Plus, if he went there, he knew Shiro would drag him out anyway.

So Keith retreated to his room, his last safe haven. He kicked off his boots and didn't even bother hanging up his jacket, choosing to curl up in bed instead.

He wasn't even sure when he fell asleep, worrying too much as anxiety chewed up his stomach.

* * *

Hunk was the first person he encountered the next day. When Keith woke up, he was hungry so force of habit led him into the kitchen. It was only when he looked up and noticed him stirring something that everything came crashing back.

Keith froze as Hunk glanced up at him. He wasn't quite sure how to react, but Hunk just sent him a smile, if a bit shaky.

"Hey, Keith." He poured the contents of the bowl into a tray and slid it into what they had figured out functioned similarly to an oven. "Sorry, these aren't ready yet, so it's only food goo for now."

"Ah… okay." Keith shuffled over to the goo dispenser and quickly filled a plate. Once he settled down to eat, he glanced over at Hunk who seemed to be acting fairly normal if not a bit awkward. There was an uncomfortable silence, as if Hunk wanted to say something, and given Hunk's nosy nature Keith just _knew_ he wanted to say something, but luckily he restrained himself as Keith finished off his goo.

Hunk broke the silence just as Keith was leaving. "Oh, hey, almost forgot!" A ding let Hunk know to remove the tray from the oven, but he kept his face and voice directed at Keith as he pulled it out with a practiced motion. "Apparently, the Blade are waiting for a transmission, but we'll be making our plan tomorrow. So," he turned to face Keith and gave him that restrained smile again, "if you need time to yourself to adjust to all this, then you can go ahead and take it."

Keith blinked. Sure, Hunk might be awkward, but he didn't seem to be mad or hate him. Or at least, not like Allura seemed to. He was even trying to help. "Uh, thanks." Keith replied before leaving.

"No problem, man!" Hunk called back, and then Keith heard soft cursing as the treat obviously did not come out like Hunk intended.

Keith allowed himself a small smile.

That wasn't as bad as he feared.

* * *

Pidge cornered him as he wandered the hallways.

Keith still felt an urge to go fight with the Gladiator while simultaneously having no desire to get into another fight so soon. Instead, he decided to explore a bit as he had nothing better to do. Really, he should have expected her to show up.

He still hadn't expected her to pop out of a vent like the gremlin that Lance called her.

"Gah!" On instinct, Keith pulled out his bayard and fell into a fighting stance.

"Chill." Pidge rolled her eyes as she tumbled out. "It's just me."

"Pidge." Keith deactivated his sword. This was not helping his frayed nerves.

"Yep!" She straightened up and threw Keith a critical look. He squirmed under her gaze, until finally she held up her hand and made a grabbing motion. "So, gimme."

"What?" His brow wrinkled.

"Your Galra blade. Gimme."

Keith placed his hand protectively over the hilt. "Why?" His heart sped up. This was the only thing he had of his mom's, a gift from his dad, and the Blade had only just decided to let him keep it as he had managed to awaken it.

Sure, he had been willing to give it up so he could keep being a Paladin, but now that he was allowed to have it, he didn't want to get rid of it.

Pidge gave a sigh of the long suffering. "I'm just going to do an analysis of it. Jeez," her eyes were rolling again, "you know, you could have come to me and I would've given you as much info as you could get on it."

"Ah." Honestly, that thought had never occurred to Keith. Maybe if he had, he wouldn't have picked a fight with that blade seller at the Space Mall.

Pidge cracked a grin at him. "C'mon."

She led him to her lab space in the Green Lion hangar. Plucking the blade from his hands, she plopped it down underneath her scanner and began to type away at her monitor.

Keith gave her a sideways glance. Pidge seemed to be acting normal, none of Hunk's nervousness in her movements. As per usual, she was being driven by her curiosity.

Still, he couldn't help but ask. "Does it bother you?" After all, she had lost most of her family to the Galra.

She paused and looked up at him, taking a moment to push her glasses up her nose. "What?"

"Does it bother you that I'm - " Keith looked away, shuffling his feet.

Pidge stared at him for a second. "Are you familiar with Star Trek?"

Keith blinked. "Uh, what?"

"Star Trek? Original show came from the 1960's? Famous sci-fi franchise?" Pidge pushed.

"Ah, yeah. I've heard of it." Keith scowled. He may not have been the most up-to-date on pop culture, but even he was familiar with something as ancient as Star Trek.

"Okay. Y'know Spock?"

"Yes." Spock was one of the most recognizable icons in sci-fi. He didn't see where Pidge was going with this.

"Spock, of course, is technically half-human, half-Vulcan." Pidge explained. "However, several people have pointed out that his expressed genes are predominantly Vulcan. He looks more Vulcan than human, he has Vulcan abilities, and culturally he's most definitely Vulcan."

Keith stared at her. "Do you have a point to this?"

She sighed again. "Look, Keith, however much Galra you have in you, it doesn't matter because clearly, your human genes are the ones most clearly expressed. And it's the expressed genes that really matter at the end of the day. Besides," she turned back to her computer, "even without that, culturally you're human. A human that's lived under a rock," she amended, "but human nonetheless."

Keith blinked again, before he felt a small smile spread over his face. "Thanks, Pidge."

Pidge gave a disdainful sniff while trying to brush off his gratitude. "Whatever." As she turned back to the knife, her grin grew. "Now, let's see what we can find!"

* * *

Pidge's scan gave him a bit more info to go on. She had been able to locate the planet the metal originated from, determine how old the blade was, and found traces of the energy/magic that probably allowed the transformation to take place. However, she couldn't find anything that could tell Keith about who had previously owned the knife, which was frustrating but Keith could deal with that.

He sighed as he looked out the observation window. The Castleship had many observation decks and lounges located throughout. This one was one of his favorites as it was tucked out of the way and no one else seemed to know about it. And he felt that he should probably try to relax a little before seeing everyone at lunch.

He'd forgotten that there was one member of their team who knew every nook and cranny of the ship.

Keith would freely admit to jumping when Coran suddenly sat beside him. The advisor was usually as loud and boisterous as Lance, so it was hard for him to imagine him being stealthy. The evidence spoke for itself though as Coran settled in next to Keith.

He didn't say anything at first, just gazed out the window. Keith threw him a nervous glance, not knowing what to expect. After all, he may not have shown the outright rejection that Allura had, but the Galra had destroyed his people and planet too.

So Keith couldn't say anything.

Luckily, Coran was not one to stay silent for long.

"You know, for a long time, the Galra were our enemies." Coran said, his voice distant and his eyes staring at something beyond the stars in front of them. "I myself fought against them at Alfor's side."

Keith frowned at that. Had this war been going on for longer than it had seemed? Before he could ask, Coran went on.

"Funnily enough, it was Zarkon and Alfor who pushed for peace and convinced their allies to join them. This, naturally, was long before Allura was born or Voltron was created." Coran stroked his mustache. "So believe me when I say that I know that there are good Galra and bad Galra. This is not my first time fighting this fight, and I know that both good and bad get caught up equally."

Keith didn't know how to respond to that.

"Allura though…" Coran paused, and he looked so sad and so old that Keith's heart ached just looking at him. "For her, the Galra had always been our friends and allies. Maybe a bit stiff in their upbringing, but good allies to call upon. And then everything changed and we were at war."

Keith got the distinct feeling that Coran was trying to tell him something without directly saying it, and he was not picking up whatever it was.

Coran stood up and fixed his clothes. "I know it is not fair to either of you, but just give it time. She is young, like you, and the turnabout back then was… well, bad is putting it lightly." He turned back towards the door. "In the meantime, if you need anything, Keith, just ask."

Coran slipped away without another word, leaving Keith to look after him in the starlight.

He still wasn't quite sure what Coran had been saying about Allura, but it was enough to know that Coran at least did not hold his heritage against him.

* * *

Admittedly, if there was one person Keith had been trying to avoid, besides Allura, it was Lance.

Lance was a nice guy, for the most part. Sure, he had proclaimed them rivals, but the two of them got along with each other more often than not and they made a good team.

However, Lance did like to tease and make comments. They were mostly about things that were inconsequential, like Keith's hair or their current situation being his fault, or that were undeniably true, like him being hot-headed or jumping into situations without thinking them through. The whole situation with the Blade had proved Lance's point in that regard all too well.

But so far, Lance had never dug at or commented on anything that was too personal or actually serious. And Keith could be grateful for that and he felt that Lance would never do anything like the bullies he had faced growing up. Lance wasn't like that, it just wasn't in his nature.

In fact, despite their rivalry, it was usually Lance, not Shiro like some might think, who pulled him back when he was about to jump into things. He was the one who checked that he wasn't training too long and made him come to what he had declared "family dinners." Checking up on others, now that was something that was part of Lance's personality.

This Galra thing was huge though. And Keith didn't know what would be worse: Lance commenting on it because it was finally something too big for him to ignore, him taking Allura's side, or him telling that things were okay. Keith didn't know how he'd react in any case.

Which is why at lunch, that was a lot less crowded than usual with Allura, Coran, and Shiro probably planning on how to ally with the Blade and Pidge caught up in her work, Keith tried to go through his goo and the treats Hunk had made earlier as fast as possible and ignored Lance and Hunk's conversation.

It was in vain though as the moment he began his retreat, Lance called out to him, "Hey, wait!"

Keith stopped automatically and quietly cursed himself. There was a time before all this when he would've just kept walking. He steeled himself and turned slowly to see Lance jogging to catch up to him. Lance didn't seem to be acting any different, but just like with the others, Keith could only brace himself for what would surely be coming, some sort of comment regarding what had happened.

Instead, the first words out of Lance's mouth were, "Hey, you're from Texas or something, right? Got any experience with milking a cow?"

Keith stared. "What?" That was… that was nothing like what he'd been expecting. That… that didn't even have anything to do with anything.

Actually, Lance did have a tendency of surprising him. Maybe he should have seen this coming.

"Milking cows? You do realize we've got a cow now, right? And Kaltenecker needs milking." Lance explained, his hands gesturing to help illuminate his point. "And yeah, I know how to do it, and I've been doing it, but I'm thinking someone else should learn it, too."

What Lance was saying was not even computing in Keith's brain. It was too ludicrous to think about.

Lance paused, and then sighed. "I'm guessing from your response that you don't know." He turned towards the elevator and waved for Keith to follow. "C'mon. Let a master show you how it's done."

He didn't even check to see if Keith was following him as he continued. "Y'know, I thought about teaching Hunk, but while he's okay with barf, anything else is pretty much a no for him. And we all know how Pidge feels about dealing with nature. Then with Shiro, how could I even - "

"Are you freaking kidding me?!" Keith exploded, jaw dropping in shock.

Lance stopped and glanced over his shoulder, blinking widely. "Uh, no. Seriously, in case of emergency, someone else should really know - "

"I'm not talking about the freaking cow, Lance!" Keith yelled, tugging at his hair in exasperation. "You're not even going to say anything?!"

Lance turned to face him fully, frowning. "Say what about what?" He sounded genuinely confused.

"About what? I - " Keith spluttered. "I'm Galra!"

It was his first time saying it since he'd told the team, and he immediately shut down. The words burned on his tongue, sour and painful. He was Galra, and Lance was just acting like nothing had changed. How could he -

"And I'm Cuban." Lance said flatly. "What's your point?"

"What's my - ? Wait, you're what?" Keith stopped, and furrowed his brow at Lance's response.

"Cuban. As in I was born and raised in Cuba." Lance said plainly, like he was explaining something to a toddler.

"Really? You don't - " Keith cut himself off right there. Sure, he had thought that Lance had some sort of Spanish or Latinx background. His tanned skin and his habit of mumbling in Spanish when he was sleepy had made that clear, though his blue eyes made it seem like something else was mixed in there. But still, he…

"Let me guess." A bitter smile twisted Lance's lips, and it just looked wrong on his face. "I don't sound like it."

"Well…" Keith couldn't deny it. He also found that he couldn't look at Lance.

"That's on purpose. I practiced my English a lot to sound like this."

And wasn't that a loaded answer. Somehow, Keith had never imagined Lance having to deal with bullies. He was just… too him.

"And…" Lance was once more in Keith's view as he bent down to meet his gaze. "Does that change anything? Me being Cuban?"

Keith jerked back, and straightened. "What? Of course, it doesn't!" He glared at Lance for even implying it would.

Lance smirked right back. "So why should you being Galra change anything?"

Keith froze and his eyes widened. _Oh…_

Lance's smirk softened into a smile. "Dude, even if you didn't know, you've always been part Galra. And more importantly, you were our friend before you found out. So why wouldn't you still be now that you know?"

Keith could only stare, and he felt a wetness growing in his eyes. _Nope. I am not going to cry. Not right now just because my "rival" is fine with… all this._

Before Keith could break, luckily, Lance stepped in. "Jeez, this isn't even a big thing." It could've just been the lighting, but Keith would swear that Lance's cheeks darkened with a blush. "Don't look at me like that for being a decent person." He muttered.

Keith let out a small chuckle. "Yeah." He used his sleeve to wipe away the lingering dampness.

"Anyway, I wasn't kidding about Kaltenecker." Lance abruptly pivoted back towards the elevator. He grabbed Keith's wrist and began tugging him along. "I shouldn't be the only one on the ship who knows how to milk her, and with the lack of other options, it seems you're the best choice."

"Wow, you seem so enthused." Keith couldn't help but say, his normal smirk tugging at his lips.

"Well, once you've learned I can totally beat you in a milking contest." Lance pumped his fist and Keith could just tell that there was an excited grin on his face.

"Hm. We'll see." Keith shrugged, noting that Lance's hand hadn't left his wrist yet.

"Oh, yeah! Just watch!" Lance glanced back, and sure enough, that grin was right where it should be.

"How did you even learn how to milk a cow?" Keith couldn't help but ask.

"Oh, well, back in middle school, I went through a whole bunch of part-time jobs. First, I…" And Lance easily launched into the story about his various part-time jobs as they entered the elevator to get to Kaltenecker's room.

Watching Lance talking with such enthusiasm and thinking about the rest of the team's acceptance, Keith felt himself relax. Sure, it might take Allura a while to adjust, but everyone else here, his family…

They accepted him.

He still had a place here.

And that was more than Keith had had in a very long time.

So, he let himself relax and couldn't stop a laugh at Lance's story. For the first time in forever, Keith thought that maybe, just maybe, things would be okay.

* * *

 _AN: So I've had this idea for this missing moment for a while, and I actually started writing it for Keith's birthday. Unfortunately, due to grad school projects, I didn't end up finishing it in time. Whoops. I really wish we could have seen everyone's reactions to the Galra!Keith reveal, but alas, I guess I'll just have to guess as best I can based upon how everyone acted later and people's personalities. By the way, if you're upset that Hunk's section was so short, that's because Hunk didn't want to overwhelm Keith with his questions right away and ended up really showing his reaction when they were going to the Weblum. Which we were actually shown. So I decided to focus on everyone else here._

 _Anyway, Happy belated Birthday, Keith!_


End file.
